A short history of Windows systems
- ~1980 MS-DOS: single-tasking, command-line operating system
- 1990s: Windows 3.x, graphical user interface with mouse support, multitasking
- 1993: Windows NT 3.51, 32-bit system, NTFS file system, multiprocessor support
- 1995: Windows 95, 16/32 bit
- 1996: Windows NT4 Server and Workstation. For the first time there is authentication, with username and password.
- 1998: Windows 98
- 1999: Windows 2000 Professional and Windows 2000 Server
- 2000: Windows Millennium
- 2001: Windows XP.
Available in Home edition (for consumer use) and Professional (for business).
From now on, all Windows operating systems support user authentication For the first time, Microsoft brings together the private and pro range. - 2003: Windows 2003 Server - it's effectively the server version of Windows XP.
- 2006: Windows Vista
- 2008: Windows 2008 Server - the server version of Vista
- 2009: Windows 7 & Windows 2008 Server R2
From now on, all Windows Server versions are 64-bit only. - 2012: Windows 8 & Windows Server 2012
- 2013: Windows 8.1 & Windows Server 2012 R2
- 2015: Windows 10 & Windows Server 2016
- 2021: Windows 11 & Windows Server 2022
These are a few questions to address before upgrading a computer :
- Does it meet the minimum hardware requirements? You can check that by running the PC Health check from Windows Update.
Watch our webinar for more information.
- Is the computer compatible with the new operating system?
Are the peripherals compatible?
Sometimes there are issues of driver compatibility with the new OS.
- Is the software compatible with the new OS?
- Decide whether you will upgrade or do a clean install of Windows. See here for more information,
If doing an in-place upgrade, take the following precautions
- Unplug any nonessential hardware devices
- make sure that all important Windows updates are installed
- remove any non-Microsoft antivirus application
- uninstall outdated software
- Do you need to upgrade? What are the benefits of using a newer version?
- Do you have a current and complete backup of all your data?
- If you plan to reinstall old software, do you still have the license information?
Here are some training videos that might interest you